How high do you hunt?
 

I know some guys that went on a bowhunt in Illinois & their guide had them in 12 or 15 foot stands. This kinda freaked them out because down here in the deep south, if your not 20 ft or higher, then you will probably get busted. Our deer walk around looking up in the trees. How high do you hunt?

I also heard this and also heard some say that Illinois deer don't look up. I was never looked at when I was in IL but I'm not sure I'd believe that. :s12:

I always hunt at a minimal of 20' if terrain and foliage allows. That's just me and not a rule of thumb. Many successfully kill deer much lower every year. Many kill from the ground as well so...

Here in south jersey deer look up more than they look down it seems. Im usually at least 20' but i have shot em at around 15 but i wast nestled in some thinck foliage. gonna try one on the ground this year i think

Early season when there is still lots of foilage I hunt 20 - 25 feet, as the leaves start to disappear I go higher, sometimes up to 30 feet. A lot of it depends on the terrain and the amount of breakup you have.

I am a firm Believer in hunting in the first layer of growth, AKA right around 12-20 ft depending on the area. I have a stand that is only 8 ft tall. I think that as leaves fall, u start to lose your backdrop. I trust my camo, but when there is no background for it to work with, (aka THE SKY) it cant really do its magic! I am rarely busted by deer....But that could just be an NE ohio thing :D

A place I used to hunt and was a very favorite stand of mine was only 3' off the ground. :happy0001:

Now the explanation. It was on a gas line. There was a small oak right behind a group of elm/pine/fir trees that you couldn't see through. The stand when I was standing on it allowed me to shoot over top the pine trees. When seated it only allowed my head visible. The deer would funnel up the gas line. I was young and I missed a pile of deer from that stand. :confused0024: :happy0001:

It depends on background cover, tree structure and shooting lanes. If there is good cover and good lanes at 12', then 12' is high enough. If it is December (no leaves) and the deer are skiddish, then 20' would be a minimum.

Remember that double-lunging a deer becomes exceedingly difficult if the downward shot angle is too great. If you are 25' in the air and the deer is at 7 yards, then your target area for a lethal and humane shot is very small and surrounded by bone - even if the deer is perfectly broadside. We talk about increased hunting height for concealment but we often neglect to consider the effect on shooting angle.

Ideally I try to get upwards of high teens.
A lot depends on the terrain/tree I select and the amount of branches I have to cut to remain hidden.

This year I have relocated one of my stands about 100 yards down a nice trail and have it set about 28 feet high (nose bleed). This is hard to believe as I am scarred of heights!!!

This is one of my weaknesses. Im really scared of heights. Every year i tell myself that ill hang a stand at least 20 feet but i just cant do it. 15 feet is about has high as i can go.

All my ladder stands are 15' tall. Considering that most if not all of a deers natural predators hunt from the ground this should be high enough. I guess it helps to have a mess of yotes running around. Have had deer look right at me, most likely noticed some movement, then you just have to freeze, and they go on thier way right to the freezer.

Does anyone cut branches off of oaks and stick them through pvc pipe around their stand to create cover, I am going to try that this year, althogh the leaves will die quickly they usually hang on for a long time.

All of are stands are 12 foot and we have never been spotted by deer, have them walk right under like no body there. Its call sit and be very still , less movement is less noise and that means less chance they will look up

No shame in that:happy0001: Better off to be confident and feel comfortable in the tree and not have the anxiety going when the deer comes in!

I like to usually get to the first layer of foliage as others have said already. When I first started climbing I would go way beyond that just to do it I guess, and trial and error has allowed me to figure out that most of the time that inhibits your shot distance by quite a bit! My bow rope is 30' long, and there have been many times that ive been dragging a bow up the tree lol! But usually only if it helps me to be able to be more efficient in that area.

We just built 2 16' ladder stands, and have about 4 more that are 15' as well.

IMO you CAN get too high, but if you would've asked me that 4-5yrs ago, I would have argued differently:s12:

I feel like when you are inexperienced, or less comfortable with deer on you, being higher is worth it, but now id rather just have better distance and shooting lanes.

Derek

Nothing better than acting like a tree:s2: Many times when i climb and have to cut limbs i will jam them in the platform of my climber and try to brush it up a little bit. Sometimes its not worth the trouble though...

Derek

If that were the case, then I'd probably sit on the ground in a lawn chair.

That said though, I have found that with adequate cover and minding the wind, 12 to 16 feet is a nice height at which you can easily still get both lungs in to about 5-6 yards. No matter how high you go... if you have no cover and you can't hold still when it counts, you are going to get smoked.

just depends.. but my ladders are all 20-22 ft. Most of my hang ons are probably 22ft.

Depends on a lot of things, but I usually try to get at least fifteen feet off of the ground. Terrain, canopy, and the background, as others identified, figure into the equation. Sometimes in a place where I can see for a long way though, I'll get 30' or more up where the limbs begin on most pine trees where I hunt. Usually for bowhunting though, I try to limit it to 20'.

I don't like hunting very high.... I would say that most of my stands are between 12 - 15 ft (normally don't go any higher), but my best stand my feet are only at 5 ft. Sometimes where I hunt, there aren't a lot of options for trees... And I would rather hunt a bad tree in a good area than a great tree in a not so good area any day....

around 15 feet for me......

It depends on where the deer will be coming from. When i hang a set i try to look at from the deers point of view. I've found that most of my sets are no higher then 12' but then again everyone's situation is different.

I like to get around the 20 ft mark. It depends on the cover. Sometimes I get up much higher than that. My sons laugh and ask if I want a parachute. Deer absoultly will look up. Especially if you make the slightest noise or move when you should not. I can't count the times they have busted me drawing back my bow thru the years. Not that I am complaining as that is one of the things I love about being a bowhunter. The deer have a chance.

I go up around 25 feet and thats about as high as ill go

For me, it depends on the terrain and where the deer will be coming in. Like, if im on level ground I might not be even 10ft high. I get up near 20ft on hillsides where deer can come out above me and anything lower could put me almost eye level with the deer. I get really high when Im rifle hunting though, usually because its later in the year and the cover is fading away. Plus the shot angle isnt as critical as is with my bow. I never get too high though because I might shoot my foot off or fall out of my stand! :)

It doesnt take very much height to severely injure a person:wink: Not patronizing you or anything. Just a fact that depending on the angle of the fall, 6' could critically wound someone.

I'm usually around 15. It all depends on the situation. I don't usually go any higher than I need to.

I like the 20 foot mark as well

Yeah, I can't remember a deer ever looking up at me when I first started deer hunting in the early 70's, but now they will. I think they have learned it over the years.

In my climber, I have been known to have a 30' rope tugging at me on the way up. With hang ons, I like 18-20' usually, as I can pick a better tree, not just a straight tree, and have more cover. As the season gets later and the leaves are gone, I like to get way up in the climber.

anywhere from 15-20"... sometimes a bit higher w/ climber depending on cover.

I usually go 15-20' from ground to platform. I'll go 25' if I have to, but any higher than that and I get a bit uncomfortable.

15 feet for archery...any more than that and I have a trouble with the angle. As high as I can go for gun season, usually 25-30 feet.

im usually at about 12 for archery and havent had problems being busted, i have ladder stand that are 10' but havent had problems either, ive killed more deer off the ground on last minutes set ups than my tree, but i have passed more in the tree than on the ground. usually if im ground hunting im out for meat. i like on the ground or not very high for gun, so i can get longer shots. cliffs are great for gun season also.

usually 12-15, but I've hunted in stands that were only 8-10'

10' to 12' for me, I am another one that dont like heights.

I'll second that

Where I am in Florida if you go above 15 feet your view will just be obstructed by the tops of all the palm trees. 10' to 12' is about max here.

12-15ft. Any more and the angle is not right in MOST of my setups. The trees around here if you climbed over 20+ft, you would have one hell of a time seeing deer(early season),,, let alone shooting them cuz you'd be in the freakin canopy:) I think people who hunt too high shoot more deer which turn out as marginal shots, because of the angle. I'd say start lower than 16-18ft, learn how to minimize movement, and have fun. 20+ft just seems crazy to try to double lung one unless it was at 30+yds.

15-25 feet just depends on where the cover is for you to hide and blend in with.

The reason for the stands being so low I would guess is due to liability reasons. Some insurers have requirements that the outfitter must abide by.

I also prefer to hunt 20ft or higher-preferrably 25 feet to beat their noses in almost any wind I can prepare for when I place my stand and also because our deer in Pa also look up in the trees for threats.

Based on the title of this thread, I thought the comments would go in a whole different direction.:p:p

I don't hunt from trees during gun season, but in Archery, I'm usually 15-20' up. As someone stated earlier, I try to get amongst that first good branch/leaf cover.